The Perfect Hire
Most people would say that knowing how to hire well is a gut thing, a skill that just comes from experience and intuition. But is that true? And if so, how do you get better at something that is mostly instinct?
Like other largely intuitive practices such as sales or advertising, hiring skills are improved not so much through direct teaching as they are through thoughtful guidance. Instinct can be given a road map, gut feelings can be backed up with psychology and hard evidence. Think of it not as teaching how to hire, but rather what to look for when doing so. In that way, hiring isn't much different than a lot of other parts of running a business. There's not really a right way to do it, but there are a handful of guidelines to follow to make sure you get the best results possible.
GUIDELINE #1: Hire for Character Traits
Experience, knowledge and accomplishments certainly matter on a résumé, but a person's innate character traits will ultimately dictate his or her performance. Marty Levine, PHR, human resources manager for Hunt Valley, Maryland-based WebbMason, explained the value of a hire having the right personality traits versus depth of experience.
"We can teach [the print industry to new hires], sending them out to our partner vendors for the different modalities," she said. "I can't teach someone to multitask or to be detail-oriented." Levine provided a few examples of traits she looks for, such as deadline-driven, technology savvy and great customer-service skills.
"When I first started, I looked for experience in the industry and I have found that it didn't necessarily fit with our particular company," Levine recalled. She explained that because WebbMason's business is so diverse, industry experience doesn't always sync up in a valuable way. "Because there's so many different kinds of print, somebody [who] comes from a business forms background may not be successful if they're coming in here and working in promotional products," she said.
This is not to say experience is without value. In fact, Levine and the other hiring experts interviewed for this piece placed a high importance on it, especially noting its worth for positions like sales associates and vice presidents. Each one of them, however, placed personality on equal or greater footing with experience. Character traits are a constant for the most part, making them a critical part of every hire.
GUIDELINE #2: Make Sure They're a Good Fit for the Company
Besides "do they have the skill?" a question to ask about any new hire is "will they fit in?" After all, productivity benefits as much from smooth teamwork and high morale as it does from each individual's direct skill at his or her job.
"A job candidate not only needs to be a good fit for the company, the company needs to be a good long-term fit for the candidate," said Kim Hoffmann, human resources manager at Glenwood, Minnesota-headquartered American Solutions for Business (ASB).
Hoffmann explained that besides screening for personality traits ideal for a position, she looks for character elements that match with values specific to ASB, such as a sense of fun and a commitment to community service, ensuring they will fit in well at the company.
"Evaluation of a prospect's personality is important," added JP Shea, sales ambassador at ASB, who assists with the hiring of sales associates. "We make several contacts with a prospect before they would get an invite to come and 'Discover American' (Our two-day sessions for prospective associates are called Discover American)," he explained. "Having a general conversation is often very telling. Before we get too far with a prospect, we may ask another American sales associate in the area to have coffee or lunch with the prospect to help provide more input," said Shea.
GUIDELINE #3: Get Multiple Perspectives
Character isn't something always easy to pin down at first glance, and even the best interviewer will occasionally misjudge someone in a one-on-one interview. Consider adjusting your interview process to allow for a second perspective on a hire. One way to get a different look at a hire is to set them up with a second interview with someone at your company, as suggested by Shea in the previous section. Another option is to use personality tests. Hoffmann stated that she uses a test that judges personality through behavioral hypotheticals, such as, "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision your supervisor made and what you did about it."
Levine mentioned that for sales hires, WebbMason uses personality tests as well. "Right now we're using the Caliper test for sales," she said. The Caliper test, provided by the psychological testing company of the same name, is a personality evaluation that measures personality traits that relate to job performance, similar to classic personality exams like the Myers-Brigg exam. Levine noted that along with the Caliper test, salespeople and other hires who require deeper evaluation are also typically subjected to informal third and/or fourth interviews where they'll be taken out to lunch with their peers and supervisors.